Dwight School

Congregation Rodeph Sholom was preparing for its 175th birthday when I visited in 2016. The guard at the front desk was kind enough to allow me in and notified Barbara Zakin, the director, that I was interested in learning more about their magnificent temple. I was grateful that she immediately came downstairs to greet me and led me into the sanctuary. It was a breathtaking sight to behold. Seeing the expression on my face, Barbara simply stated, "They don't build buildings like this anymore. " She then went on to tell me that they are "one of the 'Big 5' largest Reform synagogues in the city" with 1800 members. Formed on the Lower East Side by eighty members from Bikkur Cholim, the congregation moved to several different locations before constructing their current building in 1930. Though the congregation started out orthodox, like most nineteenth century synagogues, it transitioned to Reform in 1901. After allowing me a few minutes to stand inside the grand sanctuary, Barbara was then eager to show off the rest of their space. As she described it, "There is a hub of activity going on throughout the building on any given day. " They have a book club, mahjong, theater productions, a Jewish Day School, a homeless shelter, and, she added proudly, "We have even had the same rabbi for twenty-five years. "A few weeks later, I returned with members of the Manhattan Sideways team. On this day, we met with Rachel Evans, the operations director, who gave us a more extensive tour, stopping in a wood panel room, known as the Leader Board Room. Rachel enjoyed telling us that the space had been scouted by various TV shows, including "30 Rock, " who filmed several scenes in the room. We then continued on to the Schafler Room, an event space used for a variety of purposes. The school children utilize the room for recess, and there is a stage where the synagogue puts on a performance each May. The musical series was in its eleventh season after being revived in the mid-2000s and the synagogue was looking forward to "Seussical the Musical" in the spring of 2016. Rachel informed us that the space is also very popular with nonprofit organizations. Galas, auctions, and dinners have all been hosted here, as well as private celebrations such as weddings and bar and bat mitzvahs. Continuing our walk, I admired a survival torah mounted on the wall, which Rachel said had been rescued by a Czechoslovakian family after World War II. At our final destination within Rodem Sholom, I found myself standing in the balcony of the sanctuary gazing down in awe, yet again. Turning to Rachel, I commented, "I do not believe that there is a bad seat in the house. " She agreed wholeheartedly.

The Church of Saint Thomas More has only been known by that name since 1950. However, the church that it resides in is much older. The religious structure on 89th Street was built in 1870 using sandstone from Nova Scotia. It was inhabited by the Episcopalians and a Dutch Reformed congregation before it became a Roman Catholic church and was rededicated to Saint Thomas More. In the summer of 2015, the parish merged with Our Lady of Good Counsel on 90th Street.

With velvet curtains, old art, and gilded mirrors, the Auction House resembles a centuries-old salon. Although regal and classic, I found it to be very approachable. The exposed brick walls – now a common feature of New York City bars – and warm, low lighting makes the space seem more like someone’s living room than a museum. The cozy drape-enclosed rooms attract locals who enjoy huddling around the fireplaces in the cooler months. The bar calls itself a “diamond in the rough, ” a term with which I heartily agree. I spoke to Johnny B. Barounis, who explained that when he first opened the bar in 1993, it was the only one of its kind. Johnny got his start in 1978 working the door at places like the China Club. He prided himself on being “the first person somebody sees on the way in, and the last on the way out. ” After a while, he became tired of the “big, loud, schmaltz-filled nightclubs” and wanted to open a place where people could have conversations and escape the chaos of the city. He opened the Auction House, which earned its name because most of its furniture and art came from the auction houses that Johnny scoured throughout the Northeast. The reproductions of old paintings, especially by Rembrandt and De Goya, fit very well in the space, which, being an old carriage house, has fifteen foot ceilings. As for the furniture, “the turn of the century motif will never go out of style, ” Johnny said while discussing the timelessness of his design choices. At the time, the only real bars were traditional Irish ones, so Johnny was a true innovator in creating something more like a drawing room or a parlor – “a lounge. ” “We were one of the first lounges in the city. Now everyone has a lounge, ” Johnny stated, adding that many policies that are now commonplace were first set into motion by the Auction House. For example, after spending many years running the doors of nightclubs and seeing the damage that people fresh out of college (“In their fifth year of college, ” as he put it) could do, Johnny implemented an over-25-only rule, which was enforced with ID checks at the door. He also did not allow baseball hats: “It’s always the kid with the baseball cap that causes problems. ” As a big animal rights activist, he does not allow fur to be worn in his establishment. The Auction House also has never had any signage. When the lounge first opened, not having a sign was a very risky move. It soon leant the place a sense of mystery and privacy, however, suggesting that patrons of the bar “had to know about it. ” The policy attracted quite a few celebrities, including many SNL cast members. These days, however, many bars opt to have no sign. Johnny suggested that he has considered adding a sign to the auction house, just because the idea of having no marking on a bar has become so mainstream. Johnny is very proud to have been continually running a bar for over twenty years. “In this city, four years is considered a long run. ” More specifically, however, Johnny is happy to have designed a space where people can make connections. “Five different people met their spouse here in our first year, ” he said, proudly. “We’re putting people together. ”

Some of the most beautiful tulips in the city can be found between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenue at the West Side Community Garden. The small green patch of urban wildlife was begun in a vacant lot in 1987. It is entirely run by volunteers. Along with the impressive flower garden, which is the center of a neighborhood Tulip Festival each April, the space features a vegetable garden and a small amphitheater. The public is invited to help plant bulbs each November and watch them blossom in an array of dazzling colors in the spring. The Garden boasted 13, 000 bulbs in the spring of 2016. And oh what an exquisite display they make. My first time stopping by the garden was in February. The gates were shut tight; however, even in the heart of winter, this charming park was filled with chirping birds. (There is an entrance to the park on both 89th and 90th Streets. )

A breathtaking cylindrical monument sits on the edge of Riverside Drive, overlooking the Hudson River. On Memorial Day in 1902, it was dedicated to the soldiers and sailors who fought with the Union Army during the American Civil War. President Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the ceremony, after which veterans paraded up Riverside Drive. Though now locked, the large bronze door at its base was originally left open for visitors. The monument was given landmark status in 1976.